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How long until my tanks ready for a GBR? at 6 weeks now.

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29g planted sparsely until my centerpiece driftwood sinks all my tests have ammonia nitriate and nitrate at 0 (I do 50% water changes twice a week no matter what) with 10 lemon tetra and 7 new sterbas. I was thinking maybe 2 weeks and ill order what my LFS called a XL tank raised Mikrogeophagus ramirezi. They also have wild caught and a "german" one no idea why they have diff ones to order like that since they are all the same species what's the difference between ramirez tank raised and a german one? they all cost 8 bucks.

But my main question once my sterba settle in is 7 or 8 weeks established enough for one? I know they can be sensitive. Also I made sure to get sterba and lemons because they can tolerate warmer tank water; 80 degrees is what I'd wanna keep him at right? Also diet wise krill and cichlid pellets like I'd feed my jack dempsey?

One last thing are the females good looking like the males? I was thinking of getting 2 or 3 in hopes of a male and returning the others. I don't want a breeding pair killing my other fish I had originally planned to have a mating pair but wouldn't they kill my other fish?

I wouldn't do a wild caught GBR-it'd be more sensitive to water conditions-so if you don't match their natural habitat, it wouldn't survive as long as a farm raised fish.

but 6weeks isn't that established.

I would wait a least 6 weeks post your last addition of fish. that way your tank gets settled, the BB has had time to adjust and things are mellowing out in your tank.

do you have a QT? with gbr's being a bit more sensitive, you're running a risk of it getting stressed/ill in your main tank and it spreading to everything else
I had that happen w/ an EBR a year ago. was NOT fun. Hence why I set up a QT. lol

in a 29, personally I'd stick with one ram and have a bigger school of your tetra's.
if your set on 2 rams-then make sure you've got lots of decor to break up the visual boundaries. sometimes they pair up-sometimes they kill each other. it's the risk you run w/ cichlids.

Jack lived to be 11 in my 75g (he shared it with a pike cichlid etc) well I gave him away when he was 10 when I moved to some nice people if I never did I think he might of made it to maybe 13.

I can only have 1 tank here but they didn't say anything about Rubbermaid containers for QT tanks.

Another option: Run an extra filter in your main tank so it's always ready to move to the QT. This way, you would only have your QT up for the 2 - 4 weeks QT period so you don't have 2 tanks running all the time.

Good idea there mommie like usual :). I have another 20g filter I can just take some extra media from the main tank and put in it I literally have no space with all 3 filters on the back of the tank atm.

I have a 20g Rubbermaid container with all my old fish tank stuff in ;it's a shame I have emperor 400s etc sitting there but the lease said no bigger than a 5g tank and I managed to let her let me have a 29g so I'm happy.

The female rams aren't ugly if I got one so maybe I'll just try my chances and order 1 down the road and see how it pans out.